Dept. 7 Adv. Class Update: The Unbound Soul is a short supplement from Skorched Urf? Studios. The zipped file is almost four megabytes in size, and contains a single PDF. The file is eight pages long, including a page for the cover and one for the OGL. No table of contents or bookmarks are given, nor needed.

The only full color artwork in this book is the front cover, with the interior art being universally black and white. Said interior art is relatively sparse, with only three pieces, one of which being a black and white version of the cover image. Still, it?s quite good, and the lack of page borders means that it shouldn?t be too troublesome printing this out, though some people may want to omit printing the cover.

The Unbound Soul is a character desperate to live forever. For whatever reason, this character has stood at the brink of death, or even died, before, and is determined that they won?t go quietly into the night. To this end, they?ve constructed mystic cords to literally tie their souls to their bodies. These psychopomp cords can also be used as powerful weapons, letting the Unbound Soul thrash someone to death so they can then take their body. At the highest levels, an Unbound Soul can bypass physical attacks altogether, directly pushing its spirits into a creature and forcing the original soul out. Several of the class features have action enhancements, allowing you to spend action points to use them to greater effect.

While the class is mechanically sound, it begs the question of what sort of PC such a character would make. While an Unbound Soul would make a great NPC villain with his ability to dodge death, the strong bent towards bodysnatching and exiling souls from their rightful bodies seems too necromantic for most players.

The product ends with six new feats. Most of these are geared towards the Unbound Soul, though several of them could be taken by other characters with a morbid, sinister bent. After all, having a sociopath?s insight into another character, or knowing you to use a whip to inflict severe pain seems rather anti-hero in nature.

Ultimately, while a player?s mileage might be iffy with the Unbound Soul, GM?s are certain to get a lot of use out of this idea, as they?re presented with a foe that could conceivably keep coming back again and again to bedevil their PCs. The Unbound Soul is a great idea executed well, and stands ready to unleash its brand of evil in your game.
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<b>LIKED</b>: The Unbound Soul presents a great way to have a character that is able to dodge death, endlessly bodysnatching and pulling itself back from the brink. With several new feats to round it out, this is a character class that is all too perfect for truly loathsome villains.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The sinister nature of this class means that PCs won't likely take levels in it. GM's will almost certainly be the only ones making use of the new rules presented here.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>